Sewing the seeds of love.

It's Wednesday night, and Wednesday nights are a blank canvas for me. Doug has band practice, which means I can do whatever it is that I want with my evening. Not that this is really any different from any other evening, but there's something very exhilarating about not having to be anywhere, not having to do anything, and not having to conform to a routine. Most Wednesdays I just end up staying later at work than I should, which means I don't get to enjoy the time that I have to myself as much as I would like, but even in these cases I still get a good hour and a half to myself at home. I can sit in the bed and eat popcorn and not get yelled at for eating popcorn in the bed. I can be in the kitchen without having to have sports radio blasting. I can sit on the couch and read my book and not have the TV on. I can do a yoga video. I can do chores. I can not do anything at all. It's such a nice night.

Tonight was one of those nights that I stayed too long at work. Didn't get home here until after 9:30, and am only now getting into the bed with my popcorn. The original intention was to read and eat my popcorn dinner while relaxing in the bed with Wyatt, my bed buddy, but my book still isn't dry (my water bottle spilled in my bag this morning all over my book and magazines), and I hate reading wet books, so I decided to blog. Here I am. Blogging. I love Wednesday nights.

So I actually have a few things to blog about; if you've noticed I haven't been blogging much lately. Not sure why, but maybe just lack of desire? I'm trying to get back into it. Tonight, let's explore the creation of the bibs. Remember the bibs? The craft project that caused me to sew my finger? Despite this minor medical setback, I really enjoyed making them, and really hope to get the sewing machine back out over the next couple of weekends so that I can being on the bibs I'll be making for my cousin's baby. And of course my quilt. I have big plans for me and the sewing machine, thanks to the success of the bibs.

I started to make these bibs in August, but bought the material back in June. I bought way too much material (why did I think that each bib would take one yard of material? What kind of baby were these bibs going to be for, an elephant baby?) so only used about half of it, and in total I made over 30 bibs. Chris and Chris didn't get them all; a couple were so small that they would probably best fit a kitten, and another two I kept for Wyatt. When he's bad I put the bib on him as punishment, and plus it's just funny to see Wyatt wearing stuff (if anyone has seen his chicken hat you'll agree). Anyway, I cut a pile of material for these bibs, and then had to go about sewing them all together.The cutting process took a couple of weeks and the sewing process took a few weeks, too. Then there was the sewing of the Velcro and hammering of the snaps... but how satisfying to have them done! And to have most of them looking pretty good, despite my many, many, many mistakes.

I was so glad to be able to create something that actually looked like it was supposed to look that I had to have everyone in the house model them. First, I put one on Doug.He was extremely happy to wear the bib... made him feel young again. I put one on, too, and even tried to demonstrate what it would look like on a real crying, drooling baby.Don't worry, though - no drool ever touched the bib. The cats, too, were in on the fun. Sasha liked to lay on the finished bibs, so we put one on her:Maybe we should have chosen a smaller one? It's more like a cape than a bib. We put a smaller one on Wyatt. This one might actually be one of the ones that is now his torture device.And then there's Meg. Miss Meggie. Beautiful Meg. No one sported the bib better than Meg.She's such a cool customer.

After making the bibs, I washed them and wrapped them up into a box to give to Chris, Chris, and baby girl chris. I haven't touched the sewing machine in about three weeks. I think I might be going through withdrawal. I miss it! Sewing was fun. Must get more material to make more bibs! Even if no one has any more babies, I might still make these things. I probably could sell them on Etsy, and wouldn't it be cool to know that babies everywhere were puking on my bibs?

The newest Mr. & Mrs. Galeota.

My cousin's wedding was this past Saturday, on the Cape on one of the most beautiful, crisp, clear fall days we've had so far, and I have now officially seen all of my cousins on my mother's side get married. It started with my cousin John's wedding back in... 1984? Something like that. I was the flower girl for that one, in a dress handsewn by my mother (my mother has many talents, and sewing is one of them - don't let her tell you otherwise). Then it was my cousin Linda, my cousin Ann, and then my cousin Amy, my cousin Jeremy, and my cousin Neal. And now, finally, my cousin Nate. This leaves the family wedding excitement to my cousins Christine and Scott on my father's side, and then my extended cousins - children of my cousins. Most are a few years away yet from wedding age, but still. The fact that many of them are in college or just about to be in college is amazing to me, so really their weddings aren't really all that far off, in theory. No pressure, though, guys!

Nate and Katie make a great couple. Sometimes you go to weddings and you're not really sure how the couple even got together, let alone got along long enough to make it down the aisle. Some people seem mismatched. But these two... there's no doubt that they're in it for the long haul. They are both kind and patient and tolerant. Both love the outdoors. Both are pretty low maintenance. Both just love to hang out. Sounds like a lifetime of happiness for them, starting with the wedding ceremony, which was on a pond in Centerville (near Hyannis). Here my cousin Nate waits for his bride to walk down the aisle and then a little while later Nate and Katie listen to the officiant tell them that they shouldn't make their vows if they don't mean them. Guess they meant them, because they followed up the standard vows with vows of their own. What a tearful event, listening to those vows. Here are two people who really care for each other. Their words were really beautiful. Even crotchety, road-worn old me pulled out a tissue when they professed their undying love. I believed them, too. It was a very sweet moment.

The ceremony ended with dry eyes as we gathered for a group photo, and then the bride, groom, and immediate family started the photo session. I snuck in a group photo of my sister's family and also got one of me and Dougbefore we headed back up the hill to Katie's parents' house for the reception.

After a few hours, the wedding party joined the rest of us at the house. Here Nate and Katie are announced in public for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Galeota. They look so happy. I wonder if it is weird for Katie to think of herself now as a Galeota. If you're going to take a new name it's a good name to take - a solid family with lots of love to share. I just could never get used to the idea of not having my name. This is why I am not a Sisko. Rosanne Sisko just never sat well with me. It would have been too surreal to be announced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Sisko. I like being a Sheridan. It's what I know best.

Anyway, the new Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Galeota danced their first dance to a Dave Matthews songand then not too much longer after that we got to eat the food that Nate and Katie made in the month before the wedding. They kept the fifteen lasagnas they made in Katie's mother's extra freezer. My aunt made the salads the morning before the wedding, and the beef (not in the photo below) was cooked by a neighbor. It was a true family and friend affair, and I have to say that it all turned out very, very well.It certainly was a lot prettier than many of the wedding dinners I've seen, and was certainly tastier. My compliments to the chefs.

Nate and Katie (a little too) nicely fed each other their wedding cake (was this homemade, too? It was very, very good, along with the other desserts)and then it was up to me, Doug, the kids, and my sister to get the dancing started. Nate played just about the whole Pulp Fiction soundtrack for us to dance to. We enjoyed it, but not too many other people were dancing. Maybe the youngins were waiting for the old fogies like us to leave before the real party began? I saw someone getting out a case of Bud Light as were were leaving, so that might have been true, though I don't know why anyone would drink Bud Light when there was plenty of really great beer on tap (Allagash White at a wedding. High five to you, Nate!). But maybe the really great beer was gone, like it was when Doug and I went to the local Dedham Oktoberfest last weekend. I think Nate wouldn't have let that happen, though - not on his wedding day! Maybe the dancing just wasn't in the cards for everyone that night. Regardless, it was a great evening, and it was followed up by a great day driving along the Cape, seeing the ocean and the sights, which will be the subject of a later blog, I'm sure.

It's a Baby Shower!

The second big party that we've thrown in our house is now done, and I will say that it was quite a success. There were (miraculously) no kitchen disasters, there was plenty of food and it tasted great (and the desserts, as you will see, were unbelievably amazing, thanks to Mrs. Hart and Vicki, who are my new idols), the children stayed amused, everyone got along and mingled well, and Chris and Chris got some wonderful gifts for their little bun in the oven. Doug and I throw a good party, if I do say so myself. Maybe we'll be the Massachusetts version of my sister and brother-in-law, throwing great parties for all occasions. Because really, it's a lot of fun to have everyone together, having a good time, and while it does take work to make sure that the house is in order, everyone has what they need and want, and that the food is all ready and edible, the payoff is definitely worth it. I'll have to tell Doug that we should throw parties more often.

We weren't able to take too many pictures of the event, as I spent a lot of the first part in the kitchen, and Doug was busy making sure there were enough beverages, making sure the parking situation on our little tiny street was working out (apparently our old neighbors across the street, the very ones that busted down our fence, had an issue with us parking a car in front of their house. Didn't want us to get too close to their walkway lest the car possibly touch it. Yes, these are the folks that drove into our fence. Yes, it took a lot of effort not to get very snippy at them.), and making sure the cats were accounted for and not getting themselves into trouble. We do have some of the fun on film, though.

Here are Emily, Alastair (who is such an adorable little boy!), and Marieke enjoying cookbooks and Monet. Alastair is a culture-fiend for sure.

This one's a snapshot of the food table with much of the food eaten, which is a good thing. What is a bad thing is that nothing was totally finished, and that no one took leftovers. Now our fridge is filled to the brim with all the leftovers and Doug and I just don't have the room in our stomachs to eat all of this good stuff before it goes bad.

Now here are a couple of good ones - the look on girl Chris's face as she sees the sneaker-socks is, in the words of MasterCard, priceless. The socks really were very cute. And now baby girl chris has a set of more formal socks with her mary-jane socks, but can go totally casual in her sneaker-socks. She's set. She's also set, or almost set, with bibs. The second photo is one of Chris opening the bibs that I made for the baby. Yes, this is the craft project I've been trying to covertly blog about for the past month or so. I have photos of the process of making these bibs, so I'll do a blog on that in the future, but the great thing is that the bibs went over well. They liked them! I am very pleased.

This next photo is of the parents-to-be cutting their baby cake.Now, do you see this cake? I mean, look at it. It's a work of art! Mrs. Hart really out-does herself with these cakes. She also made the cookies from scratch. And Vicki made these delicious cupcakes with a slightly citrus-y frosting (homemade, of course) that are on the right in the photo. I had three. They were that good. Seriously, these women are my new baking heroes. I want to be them and know their secrets.

And now here's my favorite photo - a belly shot of the mom-to-be. Isn't she lovely? There is a little baby girl in there, getting very ready to be born. Chris said about seven to eight weeks left. Wow! That's exciting indeed.

What was also exciting, for Doug at least, was having an audience for his new toy, his ukulele.Everyone has a "thing" they do at parties to make it more comfortable. Some people drink wine. Some people hold something, like a drink glass, so that they don't have to seem like they're standing around with their hands in their pockets. Some people get really talkative and animated. And some people play ukuleles. It was nice to have a musical element to the day, and the uke was fitting, seeing how it's a tiny instrument with a tiny sound on a day that we're celebrating a tiny new life.

The cats survived the shower/party. They survived the people, the noise, the disruption. They're back to their old selves, just like me and Doug. Once the dishes were put away and the floors vacuumed and cleaned, life was back to normal. That's a bit of a downer, though - it was fun having company, and it was great to see everyone. I'll just have to take a lesson from Wyatt - find a sun spot and relax.

Hopefully there won't be a kitchen disaster.

I took this quiz on Facebook the other day - the "What type of person are you?" quiz. My result: #5, The Observer. Not sure what the first four are, or now many types of people there are, or even how the types are ranked, but that was my result. This description follows the result:

Observers want knowledge and they're introverted, inquisitive, understandable and analytical. It's hard for them to handle their feelings, they rather use their head than... their heart. Other people can find them cool, distant, bussinesslike and non-emotional. Actually they are very sensitive, but it's just difficult to express it. They like to be alone to process their emotions. Observers don't like it when others dominate them. RELATIONSHIPS: You know you cover yourself from the world and you long for contact. You're afraid to open up. You feel attracted to people who give you space, then you can give and take. You choose friends with the same interests. FIXATION: stinginess VICE: greed VIRTUE: detachment PROFESSIONS: scientist, investigator, inspector, librarian, monk, ...

I like some elements of this description, since I think they're spot-on. The parts about wanting knowledge, being analytical, preferring to use my head rather than my heart, and the part about being quite sensitive. Not sure I get the part about the fixation - is that my fixation? In what way am I fixated on stinginess? On my own stinginess? That of other people?? I'm confused. As usual, these Facebook quizes seem so intriguing, so worthwhile, but in the end I'm left scratching my head and wondering how I could have better spent the two minutes it took for me to take the quiz. But at least I know now that I'm The Observer. I feel so enlightened.

And, because I don't really have that much else to say (I haven't really been reading much, haven't been doing any more sewing, haven't been watching much TV, and haven't been in communication with much of the outside world in a while), I'll give a run-down of the menu I've planned for the Chris' baby party/shower this Saturday. I'm quite excited about the food. A bit bummed I'm not handling the desserts, since I love to bake more than I like to cook, but I'm pleased (but slightly intimidated by the responsibility) that I can control what we eat. I've tried to be considerate of what other people might want, but for the most part I think I've stuck to my favorite food ingredient - carbohydrates. You really can't go wrong with carbs!

* Good old chips & salsa
* Three Bean Salad with Red Pepper and Onion
* Fruit salad
* Pear, Pecan & Baby Greens Salad
* Homemade pizza squares
* Cheese tortellini with roasted cauliflower, spinach, and vodka sauce

And, of course, plenty of desserts, and I can only imagine how tasty those are going to be. The Hart women really know how to bake.

So, that's the menu so far. Don't worry, though - we live close enough to a Comella's that if a disaster happens in the kitchen (and I am totally prepared for that to happen) we will have wonderful back-up.

Why again don't we live in a high-rise condo?

Oh, right. We couldn't afford one. Isn't it strange that we couldn't afford to buy a two-bedroom one-bath condo somewhere within city limits (or at least T-accessible), but we could afford to buy a house in the burbs with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a garage, a driveway, a whole mess of trees, and too many plants to keep track of? Why does one get all this responsibility for so much less money? I don't get it, though I spent a good part of Sunday trying to figure it out while I spent time doing work around the outside of the house. It was my once-every-6-weeks "oh yeah, I have to actually do yardwork while living here" project. This time I got rid of all the dead flowers in the planters and window boxes and either put the empty planters away for the season or filled them up with new plants (and I have hope that I'll remember to water these! I am resorting to Miracle Grow this time. I swore I'd never use it, because I wanted my thumb to be green enough to grow a garden without it, but I'm over that now.). Because really, who wants their window boxes to look like this: when they could look like this instead? (Note the pretty little kitty in the right window. Awww. She's so cute when she's on the other side of the glass...)

So the yard was cleaned up a bit. Doug trimmed some of our front bushes and we weeded a bit, not to mention swept the patio and driveway, tied the tomato plant to the fence so it is no longer growing horizontally, and tried to get rid of some of the spiders that live around the house. Perhaps we have so many of them because the summer has been relatively cool and damp, but there are spiders and webs everywhere. In every nook you'll see a web, at least one spider, and usually a sack indicating the impending birth of more. The spiders are particularly rampant in the back of the house (where these lights are located) and in the garage, where it's cool, shady and damp. I blame the trees. I want to cut some of the branches back so the house gets more sunlight, making it dryer around the yard. Doug likes the shade. But I feel that the trees and shade breed bugs, and I hate bugs.

After a while I couldn't stand being around the spiders anymore (I won't even get into the story about the giant, dark, fuzzy spider living INSIDE the growbox that the wrath of the hose wouldn't even kill) so I moved on to indoor chores. I joined Doug who was putting up a couple of new light fixtures (he's on a role). We replaced the ones in the small back porch, and the one in the vestibule near the kitchen. We now have two working lightbulbs in each light, and when I came into the house tonight I was amazed at how bright it was! Good lighting is very important, more important than I thought.

I also finally hung up the art we got at the Mystic Art Show. I had to move the nature scene down the wall a bit to make room for this guy:I don't know what he is, exactly, but I like him. A lot. He's eating a book! He's white and round and pudgy! I'm ignoring the spider web in it! But it adds something to the wall. For every two Victorian-era prints of some kind of bird or rodent we need at least one fun picture, so this works out nicely.

What also works out nicely is the new cabinet we got at Brimfield on Saturday for a steal. $50! It is no quality heirloom piece, but then again, at Brimfield what really is? This barrel chair?This giant cheeseburger? Actually, this boat that my mom, brother, and Doug are gathered around is an heirloom piece. It's an old rowboat lovingly and expertly restored. The finish on this boat is amazing.The restorer-guy also did old Old Town canoes, and those were masterpieces, too. Pieces you wouldn't put in the water but would instead hang on the wall in your chain restaurant, because a big corporation like T.G.I. Friday's would be the only one that could afford to buy such a boat. But man. They were impressive.

Impressive, too, was the selection of Pyrex at the show on Saturday. There was a complete set of Pyrex New Dots mixing bowls for only $55, but I just couldn't part with the money. I don't need more bowls, and I've seen Hoarders and in no way want to start a collection of anything, because oh the slippery slope! But I did get one Pyrex bowl. A squarish bowl from my mother's set. I've already used it. I like it. And I've told my mother to write me into her will for her set (and not to break them!).

Anyway, the cabinet was intended for our upstairs bathroom, but it was just not fitting in. Wasn't the right style, was a little too long... so we put it in the sun/cat room now that we have the space (thank you, fish, for unfortunately passing away, because now we don't have to have that giant fish tank in the house anymore!). What do you think? It's going to hold my bags so I don't have to drop them on the floor when I come home from work, but I think it's a much better cat holder, don't you? Meg agrees.

Another rainy Saturday.

It's been raining pretty heavily since I woke up this morning. I really wouldn't mind, normally, since rain always gives me a good excuse to feel lazy and be lazy, but today we have planned to go to Brimfield (yes, I know, don't we always go there?) and it probably won't be as much fun in the rain. All the vendors will have likely packed up and we'll be stuck with the die-hards and crazies. Great.

On the bright side, thanks to Uncle Jimmy and his roving reporting, I have some photos of last weekend. No photos of our trip up Mt. Cardigan, which is unfortunate because the view from the top was really breathtaking - honestly - but there are several photos of our boating adventures.

Here is one of me and Doug preparing for the inaugural trip in the kayaks.LL Bean should use us as a commercial.

My mom, brother, Doug, and I went out in the boats again on Monday morning, before Doug and I packed up to leave. It was a grayish morning, but really that's the best time to kayak. The lake is calm and quiet and the sun isn't beating down on you turning you into a piece of burnt toast. Since there weren't enough kayaks to go around, Doug and I took the two Manatees and my mom and brother decided to trek out in the canoe. With a special guest, though. My brother decided to take Tyrone along. And by taking Tyrone along, this meant pretty much picking him up, putting him in the canoe, and hastily paddling away from shore before Tyrone could jump out. He was a good boy during our trip, that Tyrone. A lot of whimpering and a lot of turning from one side of the small boat to another, making for a very unsteady ride for my mom, who was convinced that at any moment Tyrone was going to flip the boat and they'd all be soaked. But that never happened. Instead, we had a nice leisurely paddle around the sandbar areas and up the mouth of the stream that dumps into the lake. Couldn't go too far because of the rocks, but still, it was a nice ride. On the way back, my brother decided to jump onto one of the rocks in the sandbar and go for a swim. Mind you, it was about 50 degress that morning, no joke, but my brother is a bit of a masochist and loves to suffer (case in point - there was plenty of room for him to sleep inside the cottage on his air mattress, but he insisted on sleeping outside, on the open porch, in temps that fell to around 40 degrees, wearing only a t-shirt, his BVDs, and a few light blankets. Crazy.), so he dove in, swam around for a little bit, and then convulsed with shivers all the way home (and probably for the whole rest of the day). To try to warm up, we decided to race home (and in so doing disturbed a couple of loons who made their feelings quite vocally known - they did not want us anywhere near them, especially with the dog in the canoe). It's hard to see, but Doug is crouched low in his kayak and really digging in, trying hard to beat me. It couldn't be done. I won. But Doug had to play a little bumper boats to show me that he's still the man in the relationship, big, tough, and able to beat me.

Ah. Kayaking. How peaceful it is. If only we had a free weekend day before my parents and uncle close up the cottage to go back up and kayak a little. The house is only about 2.5 hours from our house, maybe a little more (and definitely more if traffic is bad), so it's not unreasonable to go up there for a day and just spend the day roaming the lake in the lovely orange Manatees. Those kayaks are really nice, but the paddles - so great! Lightweight and make maneuvering the kayaks quite effortless. Next spring and summer we're there, man. Get me in my boat!

I'm a little process and people. What "P" are you?

This is the second time I've been to this particular teamwork workshop at work, and I have to say that I like it just as much the second time as I did the first. Now, don't get me wrong, I am as skeptical as the next person (probably even more so) about these group activities. These workshops where some kind of leadership consultant comes in and tells you how you're going to have a great time at work, how you're going to get along with all of your co-workers, how you're going to be efficient, productive, and a happy drone. This workshop is different, though, and it has everything to do with Lou Bergholz and his Edgework Consulting. He is really enthusiastic about his work (or at least comes across that way, which is really key), and his passion and energy are infectious. I listen to what he has to say. I'm an active listener. I get ideas after listening to him speak. I'm a little in love with Lou.

The premise of Lou's teamwork workshop is that teams work better when everyone knows there's a job to be done, wants to get it done, and works together to get it done. Everyone brings something different to the table, and this is a good thing, because we all check each other, keep all of our distracting qualities in balance, and form a good team. Lou boils people down into three basic categories, the three "P"s: People, Process, and Product. While we all might be each of these at different times, we are predominantly one or another, and it's the way that each of these types fit together - and how we learn to accommodate the differences - that makes a team a good team.

So bear with me while I discuss which "P" I am. I straddle the line between a people person(someone who is concerned with how everyone feels, someone who wants to make sure everyone's voice is heard, someone who knows people and who can just call someone to help them get to the result) and a process person (someone who is very concerned with the context of the task, the details, the supporting data, the research, how to go about getting the result, and making the result the best possible result no matter how long it might take). I am not fully a people person because I do not have connections and I would often rather sit and figure something out myself rather than ask someone for help, anyway. I am not fully a process person because I don't always care about the details (like when I'm reading a book without a lot of dialogue... sometimes I skip the descriptive paragraphs). But I am mostly a process person. I get absorbed in the task of doing something and of doing it well. I strive to be a perfectionist. I am hard on myself if the end result is not what it should be - or what I think it should be. If only I had more time... my end product would have been so much better! That kind of thing. I need people to give me gentle nudges if I'm taking too long at something. Most of the time, for me time is not of the essence.

Why does this matter? This matters because I think that you can extend the three "P"s to everyday life. To your other relationships outside of work. People need to have patience to deal with me. You should consider me a challenge. But I also need to understand that some people, like Doug, for example, want to get to the end result. They want to move through their set of tasks and get things done. And then people people can get so caught up in emotions and feelings and socialness that nothing ever gets accomplished. No "work" ever gets done. I don't always want to talk about myself or my feelings, though often I do. But if you're looking for me to always talk about myself or my feelings, we won't get along. It's all about understanding each other. Understanding what makes the other tick. How the other works. No one really needs to change, we just need to understand. You know, the now infamous, "Can't we all just get along?" Well, we can get along. Really. We just need to try to work it out.

No, we did not sit around a circle and sing Kumbaya at this workshop, but still... sometimes these work-type things can be useful. This workshop was useful. I left it feeling enthusiastic about getting my team to work better together, about better understanding my team and the differences between us. Now let's see if I can apply this knowledge and keep up the enthusiasm. Too bad I can't have an intravenous line of Lou for the 10+ hours I'm at work each day. That would really, really be helpful.

I can't believe I ate the whole thing.

I feel like the person on that commercial for Alka-Seltzer, who repeats "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." I feel like a dope. I knew my camera was running out of batteries but I figured I had enough for a few essential photos this weekend (I had two out of three battery bars left, after all). I was wrong. Saturday afternoon after three + hours of driving in really aggravating long-weekend traffic, Doug and I took the two kayaks out for a test run. I whipped out my camera to take a photo of Doug bravely paddling through the white-capped waves, and nothing. Zilch. No batteries. Not even enough for one photo! I can't believe I didn't bring the battery charger.

But the weekend was good. Very good. It's so relaxing in New Hampshire. Actually, it's just relaxing on a lake, and it doesn't matter where the lake is. The air is pure, the area is secluded and quiet, the loons make such lovely noise, and it just feels good to be there. I worked on some of my craft project (which I will finish tonight - so excited to be done with these, and they actually came out very, very good. I think I will consider the Etsy route...), read a little of my book, kayaked, climbed Mt. Cardigan and was super impressed by Doug's ability to keep up with the rest of us. Not that my mother and I are athletes by any means (my brother is, though), but Doug doesn't get much exercise. I was definitely impressed by his ability to get out of the car and climb up the mountain with seemingly effortless ease. We played a little Uno and a little Guess Who?, both blasts from my New Hampshire past, and walked around the Dartmouth campus to find a place to eat. Oh, and we also went to a guitar store, and to prove that the world is very small indeed, the proprietor of the little shop was born and raised in East Hartford. Class of '66, and my dad was class of '61. They enjoyed reminiscing about the old homestead (but that didn't give us any special discounts on any of the gear!), so the trip there was worth the time.

It just dawned on me that tomorrow is Tuesday. I have my bi-weekly meeting with my manager tomorrow morning at 10:30. Thankfully it will be a short one, but I was hoping to have a day to prepare for it - I don't really have that much time. Unless I want to start preparing tonight. Pshyeah! Not. I have a very, very, very hard time doing work at home now. Sure, I'll do it, but it has to be absolutely necessary in order for me to do it. Wanting to be better prepared for my meeting doesn't constitute a necessity. I'll survive. My night is too precious for me to give up! I have my project to finish and some TV or movies to watch. So since there are no photos to go with this blog, I'll end it now... not much more to say, anyway! My evening awaits.

Weddings and babies.

I've entered the age, and I suppose have been in it for a while now, where just about everyone I know is either getting married or having babies. Last weekend I went to the lovely bridal shower for my cousin's fiancée, Katie. Nate and Katie are getting married in a few weekends from now. I really couldn't be happier for them, as I think they are a great match. She's a lover of the outdoors, which is important for a man whose favorite season is winter (and he actually likes to be outside in the winter, not wrapped in a few layers of wool under a down comforter in front of a roaring fire, like me), she's athletic, and she's caring and kind. All things that one would want in one's spouse. I wish Nate and Katie nothing but the best, and I greatly look forward to their wedding, which is on the Cape, where I haven't been in years and years. Here's a photo of the bride-to-be at her shower:

Katie didn't break any ribbons when opening her gifts, which I guess means she's not having any kids. Right! My cousin Nate and his brothers and sister are made for having children because they'd all be great parents. And those who have children so far are great parents, and have wonderful children. It's unfortunate that I don't get to see those kids as much as I would like. But soon there will be a new addition, making Nate an uncle again. I mentioned this before, but my cousin Amy and her husband Mike are expecting a baby in March. Apparently around March 21, which means that there's a chance it could be born very near - or even on - my birthday. March is a good month to be born. Both my mother and I have March birthdays. We're a strong bunch, we March babies. It's a windy and generally chilly month, so we build up tolerance at a young age to adversity. Anyway, we saw Amy at the shower for the first time since she announced her pregnancy, and this allowed everyone the chance to give her all the advice on pregnancy, births, babies, childhood that she should possibly want, but in person. I'm sure she was overwhelmed by it all. My sister, though, having had three children not too long ago, certainly wanted to impart some of her learned wisdom to her cousin. I snapped a photo of the moment of sharing:

For me and Doug, though, our wedding is over and so I guess we're looking at babies now, but neither of us can bring ourself to say without hesitation that we want a child. I mean, how can one really know that a) one wants one, and b) one is ready for one? I can't wrap my head around the fact that a baby is not just a baby. Because certainly I like babies as much as the next girl, but for me my concern is the part about the baby growing up. Turning into an adolescent, a teen, and then an adult. There's so much that could go wrong with raising a child. I can barely handle my cats - how can I handle a human life? Definitely I'm not quite ready yet to tell Doug without reservation that I'm ready for kids, and he's fine with that. Allows him to focus more of his time on his goals and his hobbies. We like goals and hobbies a bit too much at this point to add a child into the mix, but we certainly salute and are excited for those who are ready for it (and look forward to babysitting, playing with the babies, and then giving them back to the parents when done).

Speaking of those who are ready for it, we are hosting a party/shower for our friends Chris and Chris in just three weekends. I'm really excited about it - Doug and I love having people over to the house (the more the merrier), and at this party we'll be bringing together people we haven't seen in a long time. And people we've never even met, like our friends Mike and Emily's baby boy. Doug and I do have to sit down and create a menu for this party (thankfully I won't be cooking the desserts, so they'll actually be presentable, but I am wondering if I should give up on cooking the food, too, and just leave it in the hands of prepared foods from the grocery store, or maybe take-out. We do have a wonderfully large - and I'm talking big and fancy - Whole Foods right near us now. Doug and I went there the night after it opened this past Thursday and had a blast looking at all the products that aren't in the smaller stores. Plus, the place was so neat (literally)! Each aisle was wide and long and all the goods were faced so neatly. Check out the juices behind Doug in this photo:Talk about everything being in its right place - this was a dream come true for me.), but we also have to decide if we are going to lock the kitties away in one of the rooms so that they don't bother the guests. Hard to believe that something so cute and fuzzy could be a nuisance, but some people don't like cats, or are allergic. Then again, the guests of honor have two cats of their own and adore cats (and also like our cats and don't get to see them often), so we're on the fence on this one.

But we don't have to make a decision just yet. In this particular moment, all we really have to do is finish packing up our stuff, get in the car, and make the trek up to my uncle's house in New Hampshire for the long weekend. A little kayaking, a little loon sighting, perhaps even a climb up Mt. Cardigan... this is what needs to occupy our minds right now. Relaxing awaits!

Warning: I'm complaining again.

You know, I do think I give myself a hard time. I am very hard on myself. Most days I think that I am pretty much the scum of the earth, that everyone else whom I pass on the street is worth more than me. How I determine this worth, in what currency, I don't know, but I tend to think that all I say and I all do is worth nothing. And I feel badly for being who I am. And I go to therapy to try to change myself, because I am just an inferior person, full of discontent, negativity, naivety, confusion, inexperience, blah blah blah. But I will say this. I am tired of all that. I am actually a good person with plenty to say and give that is meaningful and valuable, and my complaints, though they may seem like many, are legitimate. I actually don't have that many complaints; I just tend to harp on the same ones over and over again. And I feel guilty about complaining, because I feel like I shouldn't complain, that complaining is for losers, that life is great and I should feel lucky to be alive... again, blah blah blah. But again, I will say this. There are some things that I should complain about. Some of my complaints are legitimate, and I am tired of feeling badly about getting annoyed by certain things.

Here's thing number #1 that I am tired of feeling badly about getting annoyed by (and yes, I know that sentence was filled will all kinds of bad grammar, but tonight I'm not going to care about my grammar. I will use poor grammar without guilt or shame). Thing #1: Things not being in their right place. Now I am not saying that I am the neatest person in the world. I create piles of junk just as well if not better than the next person, but what I do like is to know where things are and have everything be in that spot when I go to look for it. For example: We have a jar on the island in the kitchen. It holds elastic bands, twisty-ties, thumb tacks, pens, and a pair of old scissors. I like the scissors to be there, there in the jar, because often I have a need for a conveniently placed pair of scissors. However, frequently I go to get the conveniently-placed scissors and they are not there. Where are they? Beats me. They are missing. And then I have to spend an inconvenient twenty minutes or more trying to locate the so-called conveniently-placed scissors. Another example: my camera and my USB cord for the camera. My camera lives in my pocket book. If it is out of the pocket book and lying around the house it is because I have made an unforgivable oversight in not putting it right back into my bag, which I faithfully do 98% of the time. In that shameful 2% of the time, though, I know where in the house the camera can be found. However, not when the camera is taken away. Moved. Without me knowing where to, when, why, or how. And even when I find the camera, if the USB cord, which is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS in the computer, is not there, then what good does the camera really do me? Because what is the camera for, after all? Taking photos for the blog. And if there is no camera cord, then there is no blog. If the USB cord goes to work, just like all the Tupperware containers, CDs, Blackberry chargers, and other such items, it will never, not ever come home. Please, why can't the camera's USB cord just stay in the computer?

These complaints are legitimate. If something is moved, put it back. Life is so much easier to handle that way. Really. Trust me on this one.

Now that I'm done revealing my innermost thoughts on this blog, probably revealing way to much of me and making a fool out of myself in the process, I will go try to find something to eat. I hope the cereal is where I left it last Sunday...

Return of the positive list.

I was remarking to Doug last night that my blog has been missing my list of positives lately. Actually, I was remarking to Doug about how my life had gotten thrown completely off track once I left for vacation. Vacation in Maine must have been so incredibly relaxing - somehow my routine was totally and completely thrown off, putting me into a bit of a downward tailspin. I am trying to grab the controls again and right myself... so welcome back random list of tidbits for a positive life.

* Looking through old photos.
* Throwing away junk that only clutters the house and the mind.
* Ginger snaps.
* Pilates, yoga, and other mind & body workouts.
* Bright, crisp mornings that remind me of apple picking.
* Three day weekends.
* Learning my way around a sewing machine.

Speaking of looking through old photos, here's a photo that I found on my USB drive. Doug and I have taken many trips in our time together so far, but one of the standouts for me was our trip to the Hudson River Valley. Or somewhere in New York State. We toured around Washington Irving's home, a working farm, the Roosevelt homestead, Martin Van Buren's house... we packed a lot in, but amazingly it was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable trips we've taken. I really enjoyed the Roosevelt house. They're a family that really intrigues me, Eleanor very much so, but also Theodore, and to a certain extent Franklin. They make me think about what one can do with one's life if one is given the opportunity, but also what one can do with one's life if one takes the opportunity. I have another book that I want to read about Franklin & Eleanor. I should get reading it. I could use some inspiration! And I could also use another trip to New York State. How peaceful it is there! I found myself wondering what one would do with oneself if one lived around there. Like, actually lived and worked. Visit historical sites all day? Where would one work? Where would one eat out (options were limited)? What does one do there? Maybe one doesn't do a whole lot there, and maybe that was the charm of the place. Maybe that's what I need more of. Doing nothing. Or maybe doing more. Or doing more with nothing. Or doing more of nothing. Or...